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“I don’t know.” It was the only honest answer.
“Mari, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this now, but it might help to have a plan. At some point you have to deal with it.”
“I’m not sure what’s best,” she said numbly.
She knew nothing anymore. Not whether she’d be facing motherhood completely alone, or with a tense stand-off between her and Nico. Would he soften over time or pull further away?
She was heartsick with it all. With the doubt and uncertainty. But worse was the one thing she did know: that she wanted to be with Nico. She wanted them to raise their baby together. Not because it was right for the child or because it would make things easier, but because she meant every word of what she’d said.
S’ agapo. I love you.
It was crazy and nonsensical, but Marianna knew it as sure as the little feet that kicked inside her. She’d fallen for Nico, and the thought of being without him made her want to lock herself in a dark room. But that didn’t mean she would settle for a marriage where she was treated like a house guest. It was the real deal or nothing.
Her brothers and Felicity might not understand it…in their eyes, Nico had pushed her out. All they could see was their sister fleeing, eyes red-rimmed and watery, and they wanted someone to blame. But the fact was, Marianna had known Nico would take time to come around. After talking with Jules, she knew that he and Nico had started off on the wrong foot, creating sparks around a puddle of gasoline. And she could only imagine what it must have been like to overhear their conversation—hell, if she heard Nico saying he loved Alethea, she probably would have flipped out too.
Even when she’d had lunch with Alethea, hearing about their former relationship had been like taking a knife to her gut. The fact that she’d brushed off how he felt about the Jules conversation was on her. She and Nico were both responsible for how things had turned out—her for falling in love, and him for being too stubborn to see it.
…
Nico leaned back in the plush seat of the Precision Investments private jet. The trip to Australia would be long, and he planned to down a few sleeping tablets later in the evening to try and get through it as easily as possible.
“The pilot should be ready for takeoff shortly.” Maria, a cabin crew staff member, opened a bottle of sparkling water and poured it into a glass with ice and a lime wedge. “Is there anything I can get you in the meantime, Mr. Gallinas?”
“No, thank you.” Nico glanced out of the window at the perfect Corfu summer afternoon. The sun was getting lower in the sky, sending warm, golden light across the island.
Maria nodded and disappeared into the back of the jet. Nico would have plenty of time to mull over how to make things up to Marianna. Plenty of time to think about all the ways he’d screwed up.
He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out the porcelain cat. The little figurine seemed to glare at him, the black enamel eyes narrowed in judgement.
“I know, I deserve it,” he muttered.
Each and every morning when he’d walked into the bedroom, he’d noticed the cat sitting in the same spot. The “correct” spot. And each and every time, he’d wished that it wasn’t there. He missed playing that game with her, missed knowing the cat would turn up at some point during the day in an increasingly ridiculous location. He missed waking up in the mornings and hearing her soft, adorable snores breaking through the quiet dawn.
In such a short space of time, she’d become part of his life. An important part. A part he knew was going to leave a gaping hole unless he could fix things.
He turned the cat over in his hands.
He must look a mess. Nico had come straight from work, not wanting to delay leaving for Australia by even a second. Which meant sweating his ass off in the thick summer heat and wearing a shirt that looked like a piece of paper he’d wadded up and thrown in a trash can. He was in desperate need of a shower. His suit pants were hanging loosely on his hips, since he’d barely eaten anything since she’d left. He’d ordered all the staff out of his house, determined to be alone to wallow in his misery. That was, until Alethea had walked into his office and handed him that book.
That damn book.
Exhaustion hit him like a wave. He hadn’t slept properly since the night Marianna had been tucked up in his arms, and he was certain he wouldn’t sleep that well again until she returned to his bed. To his life. He wondered what she might be doing in Australia. Would she have returned to the house she shared with her brothers, to their protection? He frowned.
I will give my child the best family I can. I will give her a mother and a father. No matter what you say to me.
Her words. A mother and a father. That included him. But how could she give her child a mother and a father if she moved back to Australia…
It hit him like a bolt of lightning. She hadn’t gone back home to Australia. Marianna was still here, in Corfu.
I will give her a mother and a father. No matter what you say to me.
That was her way of telling him she wasn’t going to run away. Even if they weren’t together, she would want their child to have access to both parents. Something neither she nor Nico had ever experienced. He knew she wouldn’t want to deprive their child of something so important because, down to her very bones, she believed in family. That’s why she’d wanted them to have a go at creating something real, that’s why she wouldn’t sit by and let him treat her like a guest. She inserted herself into his life because she knew family was the biggest gift she could give as a mother. So there was no way she would have left Corfu.
